Procedures for chassis control and chassis control system

Abstract

Method for controlling the chassis of a motor vehicle, characterized by the fact that the driving stability of the motor vehicle is regulated on the basis of a continuously determined and updated environmental model (9), wherein the environment model (9) is used for a predictive adaptation of the respective existing vehicle dynamics control systems (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) to adapt and optimize their respective control strategies by continuously determining a trajectory (11) from the environment model (9), which is passed to the chassis control systems (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) as a function of a target value.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling the chassis of a motor vehicle and a corresponding chassis control system.

[0002] According to the current state of the art, chassis control systems in motor vehicles, such as ESC, damper control, all-wheel drive control, etc., often support the driver even at the limits of driving dynamics. In doing so, they contribute significantly to increasing vehicle safety. These systems therefore primarily intervene in a stabilizing manner in a given situation. To this end, the systems mentioned above as examples use information from vehicle sensors that measure vehicle conditions, such as yaw rate, lateral acceleration, and / or brake pressure.

[0003] Sensors used by chassis control systems can only measure a current state at a given point in time, and thus the chassis control systems can only react to the current vehicle state. Chassis control systems have no foresight beyond the current point in time. In many cases, however, chassis control systems such as ESC could deliver even better performance if the future driving action were known. In the case of a rapid lane change, ESC could initiate a control strategy optimized for the lane change at the beginning of the lane change, if it were known that this lane change was imminent, thus achieving even greater effectiveness.

[0004] Methods and devices of the aforementioned type are known from the prior art, including DE 10 2010 004 628 A1, which attempt to overcome the disadvantages indicated above by predicting the future path of the motor vehicle in question. On this basis, preparatory steps, such as wheel-selective redistribution of torque, are then carried out before or at the latest upon the onset of cornering. This counteracts yawing of the motor vehicle or a similar consequence that is at least detrimental to driving comfort, rather than counteracting it after the fact.

[0005] DE 10 2010 028 384 A1 discloses a method for increasing the driving stability of a motor vehicle that intervenes autonomously upon detection of a potential collision object. In particular, this method proposes calculating an evasive path to prevent a collision while maintaining stable vehicle behavior through appropriate braking interventions.

[0006] DE 10 2011 010 845 B3 discloses a method for influencing the cornering behavior of a motor vehicle, comprising the following steps: a) determining a lateral acceleration of the motor vehicle; b) establishing a desired transverse inclination of the motor vehicle as a function of the lateral acceleration determined in step a); c) adjusting at least one actuator of an active chassis device of the motor vehicle such that the motor vehicle assumes the desired transverse inclination determined in step b); and d) adjusting at least one actuator which effects an intervention in a steering device of the motor vehicle such that a yaw movement of the motor vehicle caused by adjusting the at least one actuator of the active chassis device is at least partially compensated.

[0007] EP 2 233 332 A2 discloses a method for controlling actuators influencing the roll motion of a vehicle, in particular actuators of an active suspension system or a system with active stabilizers, wherein the vehicle is equipped with a function for predictive longitudinal and lateral guidance with a look-ahead period, which method comprises the following steps: a) determining at least one variable influencing the future lateral acceleration from the function for predictive longitudinal and lateral guidance, b) calculating the future course of this lateral acceleration on the basis of a vehicle model for the look-ahead period, c) calculating the transverse inclination of the vehicle, which is required for at least partially compensating the future course of the lateral acceleration acting on the occupants for the look-ahead period, and d) controlling the actuators in such a way thatthat the vehicle executes a rolling movement corresponding to the calculated transverse inclination at least approximately in phase with the future course of the lateral acceleration during the forecast period.

[0008] DE 602 16 021 T2 discloses a method for changing control gains of a vehicle, comprising the steps of: receiving environmental data obtained by vehicles of a plurality of users driving in specific areas; receiving means for receiving learned data obtained by a plurality of users operating vehicles; collecting the environmental data and the learned data; and transmitting one of the environmental data and the learned data to generate new control gains from the collected environmental data and the learned data, or new control gains from control devices of a vehicle, which are generated based on the collected environmental data and the learned data, to a user, so that in a vehicle of the user, previous control gains are changed to the new control gains.Control gains are changed; wherein the learned data includes the user's driving characteristics or features obtained by learning the user's actual driving operation or process.

[0009] DE 101 32 440 A1 shows a system for monitoring the driving behavior of a vehicle with several individual systems for influencing the driving behavior of the vehicle, wherein a management device is provided for managing the influence of the individual systems on the driving behavior.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to achieve a general improvement in the driving stability of a motor vehicle based on known methods.

[0011] This object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1 and by a correspondingly designed device. According to the invention, the driving stability of a motor vehicle is controlled based on a continuously determined environment model, which is used for the predictive adaptation of existing vehicle dynamics control systems. Thus, according to the invention, individual scenarios, such as an emergency evasive maneuver or cornering, are no longer examined in isolation. According to the invention, separate sub-control systems are also no longer accessed.Rather, by improving the utilization of the resources available in the motor vehicle in question and increasing efficiency, an adaptation to a current and immediate future driving situation is continuously controlled via a stabilization level on the basis of a continuously updated environment model, which may also contain obstacles or curves, using a trajectory as the immediate future route of the motor vehicle.

[0012] Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims. Accordingly, this method is advantageously implemented based on a layered model comprising a trajectory guidance level, a stabilization level, and a hardware level. This approach can be universally used as a structuring superstructure, even for vehicles equipped with different driving dynamics control systems, since the stabilization level and the hardware level, in particular, are openly adaptable to the available capabilities of a particular vehicle.

[0013] Based on the continuously updated environment model, current and / or immediate future driving situations are determined using a trajectory as the immediate future route of the vehicle. Preferably, knowledge about a particular driver is used within this system and processed as additional environmental information. This knowledge has been collected, for example, during previous trips, particularly on the same route, and learned during an evaluation.

[0014] Further features and advantages of embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment of the invention and the drawing. Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a device 1 for chassis control according to an embodiment of the invention within a motor vehicle not shown in detail.

[0015] This device 1 comprises environmental sensors 2a, 2b, 2c, ... from the field of driver assistance systems, such as cameras, ultrasonic distance sensors, radar, laser scanners, etc. These environmental sensors 2a, 2b, 2c, ... continuously detect the vehicle's surroundings by scanning and measuring. An antenna 3 determines the current position of the motor vehicle in maps from a database 4. This data is used in a module 8 together with means 5 for detecting road infrastructure, means 6 for detecting other road users, and means 7 for determining a road course for continuous environmental perception. The module 8, by summarizing the aforementioned partial information, outputs as a result an environmental model 9, which is continuously updated on the basis of the aforementioned data sources, to a module 10 for determining a trajectory 11.

[0016] With the help of these environmental sensors 2a, 2b, 2c, ... an image of the environment, e.g. the course of the road, other road users, etc. is generated. Based on the knowledge of the environment, a trajectory 11 can be determined which shows how the vehicle will move in the future. The trajectory 11 is continuously determined from the environmental model 9. It is irrelevant whether a driver or a driver assistance system is currently performing the vehicle control task. To determine the trajectory 11, in addition to environmental information, knowledge about a respective driver is also used, which has been collected, for example, during previous journeys, in particular on the same route, and learned in the course of an evaluation. The generated trajectory 11 is passed on to the chassis control systems 12a, 12b, 12c, ... These can adapt and optimize their respective control strategies based on the trajectory 11.

[0017] Trajectory 11 thus describes the immediate future path of the vehicle. It is transmitted as a target value to the vehicle dynamics control systems 12a, 12b, 12c, ..., which, based on this value, output and adjust control signals 13a, 13b, 13c, ... to corresponding actuators 14a, 14b, 14c, ... of the chassis.

[0018] For flexible adaptation to diverse motor vehicles with a wide range of equipment, including driver assistance systems or corresponding environmental sensors 2a, 2b, 2c, ... as well as vehicle dynamics control systems 12a, 12b, 12c, ... and their associated actuators 14a, 14b, 14c, ..., a three-layer model 15 is implemented here. In this model, module 10 for determining a trajectory 11 falls into a so-called path guidance level A, the vehicle dynamics control systems 12a, 12b, 12c, ... connected via the respective trajectory 11 fall into a stabilization level B, and the actuators 14a, 14b, 14c, ... fall into a hardware level C.

[0019] The continuously updated environment model 9 is used for the predictive adaptation of vehicle dynamics control systems. In contrast to existing approaches, control is not based on a singular trajectory that is transferred to only one of the various chassis control systems present in a vehicle. Based on a generalized environment model, the individual chassis control systems continuously adapt to the current situation.

[0020] A system as described above therefore essentially represents a software solution that can be integrated into existing control systems of modern motor vehicles with comparatively little additional effort and can be updated in a manner known to those skilled in the art. List of reference symbols 1 device 2a Environment sensor 2b Environment sensor 2c Environment sensor 3 Antenna 4 Database with maps (GPS or similar) 5 Means of detecting road infrastructure 6 means of detecting other road users 7 means of determining the course of a road 8 summary module 9 Environment model 10 Module for determining a trajectory 11 Trajectory 12a Driving dynamics control system 12b Driving dynamics control system 12c Driving dynamics control system 13a Control signal 13b Control signal 13c Control signal 14a Actuator 14b Actuator 14c Actuator 15 Three-layer model A track guidance level B Stabilization plane C Hardware level

Claims

[1] Method for controlling the chassis of a motor vehicle, characterized by , that the driving stability of the motor vehicle is regulated on the basis of a continuously determined and updated environment model (9), wherein the environment model (9) is used for a predictive adaptation of each existing driving dynamics control system (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) to adapt and optimize their respective control strategies by continuously determining a trajectory (11) from the environment model (9), which trajectory is transferred to the chassis control systems (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) in the function of a target value. [2] Method according to the preceding claim, characterized bythat this method is implemented on the basis of a layered model (15) which comprises a path guidance level (A), a stabilisation level (B) and a hardware level (C), wherein an adaptation to a respective current situation is continuously carried out in the individual chassis control systems on the basis of the environment model (9). [3] Method according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the stabilization level (B) comprises chassis control systems (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) and, together with actuators (14a, 14b, 14c, ...) of the hardware level (C), can be openly adapted to the available possibilities of a particular motor vehicle. [4] Method according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the hardware level (C) includes all driving dynamics control systems (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) of the motor vehicle in question. [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat a current and / or immediate future travel situation is determined on the basis of the environment model (15) using a trajectory (11) as the immediate future travel path of the motor vehicle. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that knowledge about a particular driver is used and processed as additional environmental information, which has been collected, for example, during previous journeys, particularly on the same route, and learned in the course of an evaluation. [7] Device for controlling the chassis of a motor vehicle, wherein the device (1) is specially designed to implement a method according to one of the preceding claims in that the device (1) is designed to determine a current and / or immediately future travel situation in a track guidance plane (A), which is designed to transmit a trajectory (11) as the immediate future travel path of the motor vehicle to a stabilization plane (B), the controllers or driving dynamics control systems (12a, 12b, 12c,...) for a respective chassis actuator (14a, 14b, 14c,...) and the chassis control systems (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) are designed to take over the trajectory (11) in the function of a target value, wherein the chassis actuators (14a, 14b, 14c,...) are combined in one hardware level (C). [8] Device according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the driving dynamics control systems (12a, 12b, 12c, ...) are designed to record a trajectory (11) transferred to them as a description of an immediate future travel path of the motor vehicle in the function of a target value and, on this basis, to output and adjust control signals (13a, 13b, 13c, ...) to corresponding actuators (14a, 14b, 14c, ...) of the chassis.

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